International success, music, extreme sport, a fallen star and more…This week from Israel!

Fallen star. Arik Einstein, one of the greatest musicians of Israel’s history, died Tuesday night at the age of 74 at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, hours after he suffered a fatal hemorrhage.
Einstein, who was often referred to as “the Godfather of Israeli rock,” released more than 40 albums and collaborated with many Israeli singers and composers to create Israel’s rock soundtrack. Although he stopped performing in the 80’s (after being involved in a car accident,) and in recent years left his house very few times, he is considered a rock legend and a very important part of the Israeli culture.

Well, thank you for asking! Bob Dylan’s viral phenomenon, “Like a Rolling Stone” caught the attention of everyone everywhere. Thanks to its one-of-a-kind interactive experience, it is taking the industry by storm. The best part of it all is that the ideas for the video were all created and produced by an Israeli graduate of Bezalel Arts School!

A delegation of 50 members of Amish Christian communities in the U.S. and Switzerland visited Israel last week. The purpose of this visit, however, was not to enjoy Israel’s beautiful scenery or historic places, but to apologize to the Jewish people. Bishop Ben Girod, of the Amish community in Idaho, led the delegation in submitting an official apology for having rejected Israel and the Jews.

Although Israel and Syria are in a state of war, Israeli hospitals are providing fluent medical care to wounded Syrian citizens. The informal system of patient transfer has been ongoing for the past 9 months, helping those who live in the shadow of danger in war-struck Syria.

After Tiësto and David Guetta, another nightclub star is headed to Israel. DJ Hardwell will perform at Tel Aviv's Exhibition Grounds on December 19 as part of the XL Nightlife Festival. The Israeli audience will get a chance to see (and hear) why Hardwell, born Robbert van de Corput, is considered one of the world's leading DJs in recent years, and was even crowned No. 1 in the world by British magazine DJ Mag.

Come to Israel! Eight journalists from leading cycling magazines and websites arrived in Israel last week with their private bicycles and took an extreme road trip from Jerusalem to Eilat through the Dead Sea and Mitzpe Ramon. The visit was a part of a recent campaign of the Tourism Ministry, which seeks to turn Israel into a destination for cycling tourism.

Apple confirmed late Sunday that it was buying Israeli tech firm PrimeSense for $350 million. PrimeSense developed the Kinect 3D system for Microsoft. Since then, it has developed 3D sensors for consumer electronics, cars, game devices, digital signage, medical devices, and more.

Award-winning Israeli film "5 Broken Cameras", won the Best Documentary Award at the International Emmy Awards ceremony held in New York on Monday. The film, co-directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, was nominated for an Academy Award last year. It won the award for best Israeli documentary at the 2012 Jerusalem Film Festival and the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award at The Sundance film festival.

Israel’s southernmost city, Eilat, is set to become a center of sporting activity after the Ministerial Committee on Development of the Negev and the Galilee approved funding to build the first stage of a new sports complex. When completed, the complex will allow Eilat to host international events while providing local athletes with quality facilities in which to train.

After its raving success in Israel last year, the Irish dance group Spirit of the Dance is returning to Israel for 19 performances. Spirit of the Dance includes 30 dancers combining Irish dance with the passionate Latino rhythms of tango, flamenco and salsa. The new show, Dream Tour 2014, will be performed in Israel from January 9 to 29 and will include special covers of two songs in Hebrew, "Lu Yehi" and "Adon Olam."

It’s not just Spirit of the Dance who will be returning here. Veteran British rock band Deep Purple will perform at Tel Aviv's Nokia Arena on February 22, two years after their last visit. The band will arrive in Israel as part of its The Best of Deep Purple concert tour, which will include performances of its greatest hits as well as songs from its new album, "Now What?!"

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